By Dr. Bruce Metcalf, CEO, Merced County Rescue Mission
When I think of the many programs at the Mission, I think of the faith-based program – Hope for Men and Hope for Women. I also think of the transitional programs, the program for people coming out of the hospital, and the programs for people coming directly from the streets or from incarceration. But, until recently, I have not considered that the many people who work for the Mission have received the opportunity to be part of a great team.
Today the Mission has about 140 employees, and over 90% of them have come through one or more of our programs. In fact, when we are looking for a person to fill a position, we first consider the people in our programs to see if one of them would be a good fit for the position. During the time that people are in the Mission programs, we get to know them and experience their work ethic and their integrity.
For one of our staff retreats, I assigned our employees the task of reading The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni. In this book, Lencioni identifies three characteristics of the ideal team player – humble, hungry and smart. Lencioni shares that Jesus Christ is the best example of humility in all of history. When Lencioni speaks of being hungry, he means that a person is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. When he speaks of smart, he is speaking of being smart in relationships between people. These three characteristics are an important part of our team culture here at the Mission. When we hire, we are aware of these three characteristics and look for people who will emulate them.
People who have gone through Mission programs and now work for the Mission have become part of this culture and part of a team. They understand the importance of being humble, being willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, and the importance of relationships. What’s more, employees whose lives have been transformed are excited to help others so that they might experience what employees have experienced for themselves.
The people employed by the Mission are part of a workforce where they are not only part of a team, but part of a family. In this environment, our employees have a sense of belonging as they learn to become productive and accountable. People who at one time were dependent on society to take care of them are now joyfully helping others, paying rent, buying groceries, and paying taxes. As the Mission has invested love, time, and treasure into the lives of people through our programs, we have inadvertently discovered that we are overseeing a wonderful workforce which is making a remarkable difference in lives, the Mission and our whole community!